Hate Crime still a daily reality for people in Wales claims new study

The findings from the biggest hate crime study ever carried out in
Wales and England will be publicly launched at the Senedd today
(September 23rd) by Jeff Cuthbert, Communities Minister.

The
All Wales Hate Crime Research Project is a groundbreaking three-year
Big Lottery funded partnership between Race Equality First and Cardiff
University.

The project surveyed 1,810 people and interviewed
over 60 victims. The findings make it clear that hate crime is still a
daily reality for many people in Wales and provide a wealth of
information on the nature and impact of hate crime. This includes the
kinds of incidents that people experience, where these incidents happen,
and the psychological and physical effects on victims' lives. We
already know that hate crime is hugely underreported and the findings
will provide important information about how people report hate crime
and, just as importantly, why they so often fail to report.

Dr Matthew Williams, Principal Investigator and senior lecturer at Cardiff University School of Social Sciences, said:

"This
research represents the largest and most comprehensive study ever
conducted in England and Wales dedicated exclusively to understanding
the nature and impact of hate crimes and incidents.

"By examining
the experiences of different types of victims from various backgrounds,
we have generated the first evidence globally that hate crimes have
unequal impacts across the seven recognised protected characteristics.

"The
research also highlights which victim groups are more or less likely to
be satisfied with the response of the criminal justice system to hate
crimes and garners opinions on what should be done with hate crime
perpetrators."

Nearly a third of victim respondents said they were
victimised at or near their home, while around a quarter were
victimised in a public place. Two-thirds indicated they had been
targeted by the same perpetrator multiple times, while 70% said they
were victimised by multiple perpetrators. Interview respondents believed
that hate crime was motivated by drink and drugs, hostility towards
certain groups and negative and stereotyped portrayals of minorities in
the media.

Many victim respondents reported experiencing multiple
impacts, such as anger, depression and loss of confidence. Nearly a
third (29%) said they thought about moving out of their area and nearly
one in five had considered moving out of Wales altogether.

Worryingly,
one in seven victim respondents reported having suicidal thoughts, with
those experiencing repeat-targeted victimisation being four times more
likely than any other victims to experience these thoughts. The
findings also show that so-called "low level" incidents (e.g. spitting,
name-calling, being treated with disrespect) have a profound impact,
even though victims are often reluctant to report this kind of
disorder.

Almost 44% of victim respondents said they had reported
the most serious incident to the police, but many did not, and the most
common reasons given for not reporting were based on the belief that
incidents were "too trivial", that the police would not be able to do
anything and that the current victim focused reporting system is at odds
with the crown prosecution services' evidential approach.

Jeff
Cuthbert, Communities Minister, said: "The Welsh Government is committed
to taking action to make our country inclusive, equal and fair. An
example of this is our consultation on a tackling hate crime framework,
which I launched in July. The Framework outlines how we want to work
with partners across the three key areas of prevention, supporting
victims and improving responses. This will ensure we focus on making a
real difference to people in Wales.

"Our consultation is open until 18th
October and I encourage anyone with an interest in this issue to
respond to it. I will be launching the final version of the Framework in
spring 2014.

"Change cannot be done or driven by one agency or
partner working in isolation. The only way we will see real change is by
working together."

Aliya Mohammed, Chief Executive of Race Equality First, said:

"Hate
crime devastates individual lives and creates fear and distrust in our
communities. We are grateful to Big Lottery for funding this research
which will be used to improve the lives of hate crime victims in Wales.
We are calling on decision makers in Wales to acknowledge the findings
from our research and make a pledge to take action on hate crime. Our
report outlines 10 key recommendations for consideration by Welsh
Government, the police and a wide range of other organisations".

Look out for news about the launch on Race Equality First's website, Facebook and twitter @waleshatecrime